Goodnight, Darth Vader, Don't let the Wampas Bite
by Lady Icaris
Summary: Darth Vader is trying to convince his two young children to go to bed, and has made a deal to read a chapter from a book to them every night. As the Rebels have started to organize and threaten the Empire, will he have to alter the deal?
1. Chapter 1

Good Night, Darth Vader, Don't let the Wampas Bite

Darth Vader is trying to convince his two young children to go to bed, and has made a deal to read a chapter from a book to them every night. As the Rebels have started to organize and threaten the Empire, will he have to alter the deal?

Disclaimer: Goodnight Darth Vader is a book by Jeffrey Brown, and I am writing a fanfiction based (loosely) on this book he wrote and illustrated. For those who are unfamiliar with the work, Jeffrey Brown writes (and illustrates) the Darth Vader and Son children's book series answering the question, "What if Darth Vader had raised Luke and Leia?" This story takes place (somewhat) in that universe, but is less intended for comedy.

A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…

Star Wars

Good Night, Darth Vader, Don't Let the Wampas Bite

Darth Vader has a long night of work ahead of him.

The Rebel Alliance is gathering allies and causing trouble for the Empire.

Moff Tarken keeps pushing for the Imperial Secret Project to be finished

before test firing can begin and mocks the power of the Dark Side of the Force.

But before he can finish his work, he needs to convince his children to go to sleep…

* * *

"Please, go to bed and sleep." He used the Force to wrap Luke and Leia into their blankets with a sigh as his headache finally ebbed away. Sort of.

"But, Daaad, we're not tired." Leia smiled in the way Padme used to when working the politicians into siding with her. He would need to keep a closer eye on her schooling.

"Yeah! We're not tired!"

"So we don't need to go to bed." He felt the gentle push of the Force trying to reinforce her words on him.

"Yes, you do. You are still growing and need your sleep." By the Emperor's nonexistent beard, how did Shmi Skywalker convince _him_ to go to bed? Right, Watto would be unhappy if they were late and was likely to use the shock collar for a couple days on them. Or might sell them. Those weren't threats he could use on his own children. "And you have school tomorrow."

"But we're not sleepy!"

"I won't take you to the Toshi station this weekend if you whine, Luke."

"Yeah, stop whining, Luke." She stuck out her tongue as her minutes-older brother.

"Shut up, Leia!" And there went a pillow, flying to the other side of the room. Followed by another.

He held up a hand, stopping the flying objects mid-air. "What will make you stay in bed, quietly, and go to sleep?"

"Why do we have to go to bed?"

He inhaled and exhaled, wishing he could just rub his forehead to push the headache away. "If only you knew the power of sleep."

"Read us a story!"

"Yeah!"

He could do that. It would keep them in bed, and they'll fall asleep eventually. "As you wish. Which book?"

"Uhhh… Luke, which book?"

"How about… How about the story of how you got to be the boss of the army!"

"Don't be stupid, that's a story to tell, not a book to read!"

"Shut up, Leia!"

"Dad!"

"She started it!"

Vader held up a hand and picked a book. A thick chapter book Padme picked out when she still lived and they were setting up the nursery.

 _"Well, if they're anything like you or me, they'll like stories. And we'll need something to convince them to sit and listen to fall asleep to."_

He smiled at the memory. "I will make a deal with you two. One chapter, one night a week, and you will go to sleep at bedtime every night. When we finish this book, I will find another to read from."

Luke shook his head and crossed his arms. "A chapter every night."

His sister grinned and clapped her hands. "Yeah. A chapter every night, and we'll go to bed on time, and not stay up."

"We have a deal." He will need to look into her schooling and make sure she wasn't using the Force, or her apparent natural political talent, to earn her grades instead of her school work. Luke was more like he was, straight to the point and honest.

"Yay!"

He opened the book and started to read, "In a time long ago, on worlds far away, before the Empire, before the old Republic, in the era of the Elder Republic, peace was the overall rule of the land. Until the Mandalorians arrived, conquering worlds in the name of combat. The Jedi Order refused to fight when…"

As he read the story of an early Fallen Jedi, he barely got to the part where Revan gathered several Jedi, when he heard the soft snores of sleeping children. He looked up from the book and watched the two most precious people in the empire in a moment of quiet. Marking his place in the book, he closed it and set it on the shelf as the light switch was turned off with the Force.

The rebels were starting to take up what little time he had with his family, and he couldn't help but wonder if the Emperor was using the dissidents to turn Luke and Leia against him. As the Separatists were used to put in an Empire and to turn him against Obi-Wan.

"Mom." He turned to look back at the sleeping children, still asleep. He frowned at the word. Padme died a few days after they were born. Neither would have a memory of her to utter the word with the sadness he felt remembering her.

Keeping the door open, but the hallway lights off to allow the small glow-in-the-dark stars to guide children to the bathroom, he made his way to his office in the infrared lenses of his helmet.

If the rebels continued to create problems and threaten the Empire, it would only be a matter of time before they tried to harm his family. The Dark Lord of the Sith waved R2 and 3PO to him. "You will continue to watch and help care for Luke and Leia, but at so much as a hint of harm comes near them, you will report to me. I will have the Mouse Droids follow them at school."

"Of course, Master Ana-"

R2 bumped into the protocol droid, nearly knocking him over.

"Ah, yes, of course, Darth Vader."

As the two droids left his chambers to patrol the small ship, he set up the force field and waited for the room to be cleared to remove his helmet and finally ease his forehead, and hopefully the headache.


	2. Chapter 2

Dinner was a quiet one. Leia frowned at the blue milk next to her plate as Luke played at spearing the meatballs. She frowned at him, and then at her father.

"Dad, it's not fair. Luke's the one who took apart the droid and choked the other kid. All I did was remind Teacher that she promised us Play Time before Math Time! Why did I have to be sent home too?"

"Hey! I was putting it back together, and you were suggesting that everyone make a fort and shoot paper balls!" Luke bit his prized catch of a meatball as he finished the first part of his speech. "And that stupid jerk-face said Dad tried to kill the Emperor because Dad was a Jedi! But Dad saved the Emperor! Right, Dad?"

Vader sighed. "You were both sent home from school because you disrupted class, Leia, and Luke, you damaged school property and harmed another student. I am starting to rethink taking you to Toshi station because of this."

"What? Nooo! That's not possible! Leia! Tell him!"

Leia's mouth hung open and she shook her head. "But… But we were being _good._ Like we promised. Luke was putting the droid together again and said sorry, and I was just reminding Teacher of the schedule. We were being _good._ "

Another deep sigh. "I know, but you two need to work on being good without being disruptive or destructive. Instead of starting a rebellion, you should have just reminded your teacher of the schedule, and if she changed it for the day or however long, you have to accept it.

"Instead of just taking apart a droid, ask how it works, and then ask me to find you a droid like it that you can take apart. And instead of arguing over me being a good or bad guy, use the other student's attempt to make you angry against them by not being angry." He stopped to take a series of breaths to allow his lungs to catch up after his small speech.

"Okay, Dad." They went back to eating quietly.

"Does this mean we still get storytime, and you'll still take us to Toshi station this weekend?"

"Your school behavior does not affect our deal about bedtime, and I am thinking about Toshi station. You will need to follow every rule from now on if you want me to take you."

"Yes!" Speaking as one seemed to be an unusual ability only twins seemed to be talented. And these twins only when they were teaming up for something, or just before-

"This means you can't keep taking apart droids, Luke." She pointed her fork at the minutes-older twin as she stuck out her tongue.

Luke shoved noodles into his mouth, chewed and swallowed with a look that promised to annoy and get back at her. "Yeah, but you can't keep being the Rebel Princess now."

That did not sound promising. "Rebel Princess?"

"Luke!"

"Yeah, 'cuz Mom was a queen once, so Leia decided she's a princess. And rebels fight rules for what's right to them, right? So she's been saying she's the Rebel Princess for our class."

"You are!" Leia threw her food at him, but was pushed back into her chair as Vader held up a hand, stilling his two young ones.

"Rebels do not realize that the very thing they think they are stopping, is exactly what will happen when they fight. Your mother was an elected Queen when she was young, but as an elected official, neither of you are royalty in the Galactic political world, even if I call you my little Princess and Prince."

"Aw. No fair. I wanted to be a Princess. That would've made Lilsa and Ekric Tarken shut up about their dad being a Moff."

"Dad picking us up might've. I mean, her dad's boss took us home from school."

"Not the same. Dad never came for Parent's Day last month, because of stupid rebels."

Vader winced within his armor at the reminder of what he had been forced to miss. "Tell me what you did for fun at recess, no more about rebels and rebellions."

"Oh! We played Jedi and Clonetroopers!" Luke grinned. "I was one of the troopers, but then Jerky-jerk-face said I had to be a Jedi because you were a Jedi and … And then I got mad and he stopped breathing for a bit…"

"I see. And who is … Jerkface?"

"Ekric Tarken, a first grader. And he's mean all the time. He always says my name wrong, and then calls Luke, Turdwalker."

"I see."

* * *

"Moff Tarken."

The Moff cleared his throat and saluted. "Lord Vader. This is most unexpected."

"Your son with cease his harassment of the children under my guardianship. I am already dealing with them for the disruptions to their class and for choking him, but as the instigator of the conflict, your son should now be informed to leave the Skywalkers alone."

He frowned. "I don't see how that warrants-"

"I was called to school to bring them home, while I was working on finding those rebels your people should be looking for."

"I do not see why my son is being punish-" He coughed as Vader closed his fist.

"Your son will leave the Skywalker children alone, or you will not only answer to me."

"Y-yes, Lord Vader!" The Moff wheezed as he was released.

"Now, I expect a report on the construction of the station's progress by the designated time. And I want it on time." The Moff flinched to Vader's amusement. The military man was just as annoying to deal with as he was during the Clone Wars. He should have died instead of Echo, or rather, all of the good soldiers lost rescuing him, hyperspace lane locations be damned.

"Yes, Lord Vader. I am working on it right now."

"Luke! Stop ripping up my paper!"

"Good, I have an argument to settle." A child's scream of rage punctuated the end of the call as Vader turned to find his children.

Luke held up a piece of paper between his hands, folding-pulling-pinching the paper just right so small tear was growing. C-3PO had been robbed of his arms and legs while R2 had been tripped and wrapped in 3PO's limbs.

"Lord Vader! Thank goodness you are here, Master Luke and Mistress-"

"Princess." Leia's tone suggested some of the protocol droid's current state was her idea.

"Yes, Princess Leia, have taken my arms and legs off and used them on Artoo when we tried to intervene with this sibling altercation."

The old astromech chirped as well.

"Perhaps I have given the two of you too much freedom with how you play. Now the punishment will be set. You will both put Threepio back together again, and then complete your bedtime chores. Both of you."

The twins frowned and pouted as they completed their own chores.

"Dad, will you-"

"Yes, I will read you a chapter. But I have things I need to do first as well." Like check to make sure 3PO was going to be working properly again.

* * *

The Dark Lord of the Sith sat between the beds as he continued to read the tale of the fallen Jedi.

"Dad?"

"Yes, Leia?"

"You're a Sith, right? With the title Darth?"

"Yes."

Luke frowned. "But if the Jedi were good guys, does that mean Sith were bad guys?"

"The Jedi and Sith just don't agree on certain things. Like you and Leia." He was treading dangerous waters here. Now was not the time to explain the complex relations between Jedi, Sith, and points of views. "But in the end, the Jedi tried to kill the Emperor before he became Emperor so he would not be Emperor, which is why the Emperor is the Emperor now."

She frowned and shook her head. "I am so lost, that was confusing."

"Politics are weird. Keep reading! Sword fights!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Leia stuck her tongue out at Luke as he refused to pull himself away from the ship's window as asked.

"Luke, you are getting face prints on the window. I just had them cleaned."

"Why can't we live closer to the station?"

He almost said 'Bad memories of Tusken Raiders'. Almost. "Because it would not be a reward otherwise."

"Okay. Hey, Dad! Did you see that red astromech droid blow up? I got to take it apart and it had a bad motivator until I fixed it. That's why it blew up."

"Great, you should grow up to be an Imperial Mechanic then. You like fixing and breaking things."

"No way! I wanna be like Dad."

"You can't, not unless you wanna live in a suit all the time like Dad does, and never eat real food again."

"But I'd never need to poop!"

A siren cut Leia off from whatever she was about to say. The shrill noise cut short as Darth Vader answered the comms.

"What?" The small image of an Imperial bowing had to suffer the glare of two children and a Sith.

"My Lord, I apologize for disturbing your schedule, but we've received reports of rebel activity on the planet Tattooine, and you are the closest to the planet. The next closest is leaving Naboo as we speak."

"Woah! Rebels on Tatooine! And we were just there!"

"Not right now, children. Go to your study rooms."

Leia pouted. "No. I wanna hear this."

"Please?"

He took a slow, deep breath before using the Force to push the children so they could not be seen by the Imperial. Using the connection at that moment, he focused on their minds and said one word without speaking.

 _Quietly. You can stay, as long as you are quiet._  
 _  
_

He did not need to spend the trip in hyperspace fixing the door, or some other part of ship. Or worse, trying to fix the weapons systems. R2 was only one droid, even if he was the best astromech in the galaxy.

The kids grinned and pressed a finger to their mouths in a shushing manner.

"Give me everything you have on these rebels."

"Yes, my lord. These rebels are coming from another Outer Rim world to make a deal with Jabba the Hutt. Intelligence suspects the deal involves weapons, or smuggling the rebels to a classified Imperial construction project."

"Consider this mission classified from now on, Admiral. Beyond this point, nothing more will be told to you." He ended the call. "Grab a seat and buckle in."

"I call co-pilot!"

"What?! Dad! Luke always gets co-pilot!"

The young boy leaned into the window and breathed on it, drawing shapes as his sister pouted. And then he grinned. "I call co-pilot for infinity years."

"You can't do that!"

"Can too! For infinity plus one years"

"Can not!"

"Watch!" He leaned into the window and opened his mouth as a precognitive vision appeared of the child licking-

"Eeeww! He licked the window."

Too late. Like the vision of his mother, the vision of Padme dying- He took a very deep breath in and exhaled with a cough that echoed through his suit. His lungs burned as the cough triggered a fit. Damn Kenobi. At least this vision he failed to stop didn't involve death.

"Dad?"

"Are you okay? You sound like those recorded vids of General Grievous."

He nodded as he reprogrammed the ship's computer's navigation. "I am fine now." He knew he was lying, and Luke's face suggested a lack of belief, but neither child voiced it.

"Don't lick the windows. Or the seats."

The twins smiled as they buckled into their seats.

Leia kicked at his seat's back. "Dad, will you back in time to read the story tonight?"

He wasn't sure how to answer that.

"Dad?"

"We can stay up until you get back, too."

"Promise we'll be good."

He felt the ship change direction as he finally spoke. "If you go to bed on time, I will wake you up when I get back, so I can read some more of the book."

"Just this time, Dad, we can alter the deal for this time, but no more. When you get back we go back to the old deal."

"As you wish, my young children."

* * *

The ship was dark and quiet. A soft white and beep told him the droids had kept the kids on the ship as ordered. At least he didn't have to worry about rebels, rumors of crazy old men in the desert, sand people, or Hutts.

"Oh! Master Vader, young Master Luke and Princess Leia have just fallen asleep. They were coloring earlier this evening and left pictures on your door."

"They just fell asleep? They should have been asleep long before now."

"They were in bed, but their life signs said they were still awake. Maybe they were waiting for you? Oh, I do hope I haven't failed in some way."

"No, Threepio, you did fine. You and Artoo should go recharge and rest."

"Of course, thank you."

Vader paused at the door of the twins' room. Using the Force, he picked up the book from where they left it and opened it. He took his seat and ignited his weapon for a gentle light source.

"I have returned."

"Dad? Leia! Dad's back!"

"Tee aych ex..." Her sleep talk failed to make any sense.

"Do you want to miss the next part of the story?"

She sat up with the speed that only a promise of sweet cakes had summoned from her before. "Dad!"

"Yes. And so, in the battle over Malachor Five, a Jedi General made a decision that would change the galaxy under the orders of Revan..."

* * *

My apologies for being a bit late with this chapter, I started to find myself stalling and going into their day-to-day stuff, but the story mostly takes place in the afternoon to night time of the days. And I was stalling on the whole "Get to the rebels and Imperials interfering with Dad Vader being Awesome already!"

To the anonymous reviewer a couple chapters back: I'm afraid that because this story takes place in an Alternate Universe, Darth Vader turning to the Light or not dying are both moot points, if they were to happen, it would be some fifteen or so years after the point in time this story has started to take place, so I wouldn't cover it. But you can certainly hypothesize about those events happening, and how that would change the story of Star Wars.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

"Moff Tarkin, I expected a report long before now."

The womp-rat faced Moff frowned. "I sent in the report already."

"You sent it in after the time I wanted it to arrive be. Do I need to remind you of what you have already cost the empire?"

"Yes, yes, a bunch of clones who all died rescuing me and a Jedi. Who cares abou-"

"Clearly, clones understand punctuality, duty, and obedience. Traits I find you … lacking." He released his hold on the Force again.

"Ah, yes, Lord Vader. As I said in my report, I believe we have enough of the structure completed that we can begin test firing of the weapon."

"No. We will wait for construction to be complete before testing. The current status would very likely result in structural failures leading to the eventual release of all inhabitants being sent into vacuum. Including you."

Tarkin pointed at Vader, a foolish move the Dark Lord allowed this time. "This station will need to be tested, soon."

"And it will be. On the rebel network's base of operations."

The Imperial raised an eyebrow and flapped a hand around. "Ah yes, these rebels. How did they find out about this project?"

Vader frowned, even if his helmet did not show his displeasure at the smug, self-satisfied look on the Moff's face. Until the Dark Lord smiled. This leak was the result of Imperials themselves having loose lips.

"Some pilots on vacation leave went to Nar Shaddaa. I understand they went into gambling and bar tab debt and started talking. They were pilots stationed with the construction project." The Moff's face wiped into a blank slate as he paled more than he already was.

Vader's smile never left as he ended the call at that and folded his hands before his helmeted face. He already had an idea of where to go to flush some of the rebels out.

Dantooine.

But that would have to wait for after dinner. And bedtime. And getting the children ready for school. But before tomorrow's dinner time. Or when they get home.

* * *

He accessed the video monitoring system of the mouse droid in the twins' room, watching them at play as he waited for the cooking droids to finish making dinner, and for his meditation chambers to let him leave again.

"You have failed me for the last time. Ksssh! Kosshhh!" Luke held up his free hand and mimed a single-handed choke as the other covered his mouth for the echo effect. "Do not doubt the power of the Force, Imperial!"

Vader frowned. Did his life support systems really make him sound like that? Like he was … Grievous, with far fewer (now) coughing fits, but a droid within a shell of an organic person? He shook his head as Luke released his imaginary victim.

Leia laughed. "Real scary, Luke. Dad doesn't do that. He'd just look at the Moffs making fun of the Force and they'd just fall over, dead."

"But then new Moffs would come in and make fun of the Force." Luke frowned as he considered his words, but his sister shook her head and spread her arms dramatically to the other side of the room.

"No they won't. 'Cuz they'll be right over there when they get all sudden-promoted."

Luke crossed his arms and threw his sister a dirty look as he pouted. "What would you do as Darth Leia then?"

"Princess. I would be Darth Princess. And I'd just make everyone agree with me with the Force, if they won't listen to logic."

Luke shook his head. "Can't be Darth Princess. Has to sound cool, and kinda like a word. Like Vader sounds like Fayther which sounds kinda like Father, but sounds way cooler."

"I wanna be Darth Princess. It sounds cute."

"How 'bout… Prister. Like Sister and Princess."

Leia thought on that for a bit. She nodded. "Then you're… Skyther. Like Skywalker, and like Brother. 'Cuz if I can't be Darth Princess when I grow up, then you can't be Darth Skywalker."

Ah, the door said he was clear to leave. Good. Vader stepped into the hallway and smiled as he turned off the monitoring system's sounds. The children's voices were just down the other hall.

"Yeah! Skyther! Fear the Darth Skyther!"

"And his sister, Darth Prister!"

"And I'm gonna have a battle droid army!"

"Then I'll have a clone army, for whenever someone kicks your b-u-t-t."

"Hey! You said a bad-"

"Master Luke, Princess Leia, please come out for dinner; I have just seen your father leave his office." The gold-plated droid waddled in from the hallway.

"Okay, Threepio!" The twins giggled after speaking at the same time, and Vader cut his connection to the mouse droid.

He did not sound like a blasted droid. Absolutely not.

Leia seemed to constantly be bouncing in her seat as her feet likely swung under the table. "Dad! Dad! Luke and I decided what our Sith Lord names will be. I'm going to be Darth Prister, with a pink lightsaber, or maybe purple, haven't decided yet."

"I'm gonna be the awesome Darth Skyther. And I'm gonna be awesome and lead a droid army, because battle droids aren't people." Luke waved his soup spoon around as if ordering where his future droid army will attack. "And-and if they break, I just fix them again. People take longer to get fixed, even if they do shoot better. And battle droids don't need a whole lot of armor, and can go to places that would normally kill people really fast, like space."

Vader nodded along. If he were to make these playtime imaginings true, he would have to remove the Emperor, and restore the Order of the Sith from the ties of Bane's Rule of Two. But he could not train them into the ways of the Force with the Emperor in power.

The rebels could take out the Emperor, if controlled right. And the military and Imperial Senate could be manipulated into accepting him as the new Emperor, or at least throw some Force-blind politician into the position.

Then he and the twins could rule the galaxy, or rule from the shadows, protect the people from their own foolish mistakes. Help improve people's lives in general without the political waiting game of the Republic where they just waited for the people to just die and be forgotten.

"Dad?"

"Hmm?"

Leia's face fell. "You weren't listening, were you?"

"I'm sorry, I got sidetracked."

"Today in class, we were talking about what we wanted to be when we grew up. We said we were gonna be Darths like you. And then Lilsa said she was gonna be the Emperoress so she could tell us Darths what to do."

"Tarkins can't be Emperoresses and tell us what to do, right?"

Vader placed his elbows on the table and folded his hands. "Most unlikely. Let Tarkin continue to think she can someday, for you have the power of the Force at your side. The Force is far greater than any technology developed. Let your enemies and rivals underestimate you, for when you show them your true power, they will fear you."

"But in school, they teach us that we need to all be friends. Friends aren't scared of each other, are they?"

He shook his head. "No, but friends do not try to hurt each other either. You do not need to make the Tarkin children fear you today, or tomorrow, or anytime soon. You do not need anyone to fear you. I have no doubt she is just jealous of you both."

"She can't tell us what to do?"

"No, and you can't tell her what to do. Not until you are all grown up with your own places in the galaxy."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

He frowned as attacks on Imperial bases diminished after he ordered the strike on Dantooine two weeks ago. This was not how things were supposed to go. They were supposed to increase their attacks to avenge the loss of their Dantooine base.

"Dad! It's bedtime!"

He sighed. Galactic peacekeeping and Imperial political manipulations would have to wait for later tonight.

Luke and Leia sat in their beds, whisper-chanting, "Sto-ry! Sto-ry! Sto-ry!"

He used the Force to pull down a new book, as the night before saw the end of Revan's story. Opening it, he took his seat between the beds and turned off the lights, using the red light filters of his helmet to see.

"Aww, Dad! Use your lightsaber too!"

Smiling, he indulged the small whim, lighting the room with the red blade in a sharp contrast to the soft green stars and planets that decorated the ceiling and the hallway outside the room. He cleared his throat and began to read.

"A long, long time ago, on a planet far away, a mining colony in a zone between the Sith Empire and the Elder Galactic Republic to be specific, there was a young man who was very good at pazzaak. He was called Bane by his father…"

The children had fallen asleep and didn't seem to suffer from poor dreams, or possible prophetic dreams. He envied them their peaceful sleep, his own has been tormented with memories and possible nightmare futures. But they deserve their peaceful dreams, childhood was not a time to be haunted by the concerns of adults.

He left the room as quietly as he could, returning to his chambers to sort through the dwindling reports of rebel activities.

He needed the rebels now. No, he needed the rebels as they were before, rebellious bands of seemingly disorganized … rebels. He pulled up a report of a hit on the scrapyard world of Raxus Prime. Apparently the only things taken were Separatist ships from the war.

The Separatist ships.

Of course. He laughed to himself. Of course the rebels would be backed by the former Confederacy of Independent Systems worlds. Those worlds wanted to leave the Republic, now they want to leave the Empire. They would still be wealthy enough worlds to back a network of cells that the rebels seemed to be set up in by design or opportunity.

If the rebels were using Separatist ships, then the Empire already knew the main weaknesses of each model, and he could slice into their communications network and get ears into a cell. Maybe enough to work out who was in command, eventually.

The next report he touched was of yet another prisoner riot Moff Tarkin had to deal with. Thirty-five troopers, four officers, and the Moff's executive officer, dead. Four thousand dead prisoners slaves of varying races, mostly Wookiee. He shook his head. Slaves and prisoners may not need to be paid, but they knew every weakness of where they worked. And Wookiees made terrible slaves with their strength.

Construction droids would be faster to work, and very unlikely to build hidey holes for tools, weapons, food, or whatever else. Memory wipes were much faster with droids than organics as well.

 _"Used to be, I put droids together. Now I cut them apart."_

The memory of words he said to Padme made him smile. He turned off the speakers of his suit. "And now, I am putting droids back together again. And I am a slave to the Emperor's whims, bound to him by technology more deadly to me than an explosive chip."

He wrote a short message to the Moff, recommending construction droids as being a more viable option, considering they could survive in the vacuum of space better than slaves and prisoners. As he hit send, the comms lit up.

He turned on his speakers and picked up the signal. And Imperial General saluted when the connection was confirmed.

"My Lord Vader, you wanted the Lars homestead watched?"

The Dark Lord of the Sith frowned at the mention of his mother's husband's family.

"It was attacked by the uh…" The Imperial leaned back, presumably to hear someone out of side. "Tusken Sand People?"

"Sand People or Tusken Raiders."

"Ah, yes, my lord. I'm sorry to report, our troops didn't arrive in time. Owen Lars is in life-support, but he isn't going to make it. Beru Lars is dead. Among the marks of the Raiders, were dead raiders that were cut. With a blade that cauterized." The General paused again, as if unsure what the reaction of the helmeted man would be.

He made a motion to continue.

"Before Owen Lars was put into an induced coma, he said something about a 'Kin-Oh-bee.' We have been searching our records for any droid with those-"

"Not a droid, General. Thank you for the report. Give Lars a peaceful death, but you do not need to investigate further."

"Yes, my lord. If you do not mind my asking, why watch this farm?"

He paused for a moment, thinking of all the possible reasons that would still conceal his past enough, but still seem plausible. He found the one he wanted.

"The Lars family was related to General Anakin Skywalker, who saved the Emperor from the Jedi assassins. I was seeing if the Lars would be made a target by the rebels for being related to someone who clearly supported the Empire."

"Sky- those children of yours, sir? Then they are in your care for the same reason?"

"That is classified." He held up a hand and made a small motion with it, reinforcing his words through the Force, lightyears away from the General. "And none of this needs to be repeated. Resume your standard duties."

"No, none of this needs to be repeated. We will be resuming our standard duties, my lord. Thank you for indulging my curiosity." The call ended with Vader steepling his fingers before his helmet.

"Obi-Wan Kenobi. You chose to live on Tatooine to hide from me. I should have paid the rumors of a maybe-Jedi in the desert, then, and not have been distracted by the other mad old men."

He could use his former master. Drive him from Tatooine and to take refuge somewhere else. Somewhere more likely, maybe, to get him in contact with the rebels. Obi-Wan always did have a bit of a soft spot for people fighting impossible odds in the name of Jedi Justice. The rebels would jump at the chance to have a real Jedi Master, and not some half-trained stranded and abandoned Padawan, or green Knight who got lucky.

He sent in new orders to send pilots over the skies of the desert world in search patterns. Officially to practice search tactics. Orders to keep an eye on anyone looking to leave the planet, discreetly being smuggled, or by purchasing a ticket.

Sitting back from sending orders, he frowned. He never was close with Owen and Beru Lars. He tried to distance himself from them during the war, hoping that his tie to them - or rather the farm that housed his mother's remains- would be buried enough to keep them safe. After the war, he looked at his left hand and closed it with a frown as one finger stuttered in its motion.

He did hope to introduce Luke and Leia to them, once the kids were old enough to not call him Dad. Owen and Beru would know who he used to be in an instant, where the rest of galaxy assumed he had just adopted the war hero's children and they just called him Dad because he raised them.

And now they lost their step-aunt and step-uncle. And he lost a step-brother he barely knew. He leaned forward and issued orders to hit the Sand People camps by 'accidentally' marking them as training targets. They should have learned to avoid that farm almost a decade ago.

He started up the sanitation process and brought a toolkit out to where he sat. The glove was easily removed to showcase the mechanical nature of his left arm that matched his right arm and legs. Pulling off the other glove, he twitched the droid-like fingers to check their functionality. The left hand joints looked clear of obstructions, but he opened up the casing to look it over anyway.

And found a sequin had worked its way deep into the wiring and equipment.

He smiled as he counted his worries of the day.

Rebels, the Emperor, the safety of his children, stupid Imperials, sand raiders, not-dead-yet Jedi Masters, and sequins in his hand.

He spared the brave sequin.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

His blood still ran cold as the medical droids operated in the next room. He paced back and forth as Leia slept on the couch. He paused his pacing to unhook his cape and lay it on her. She sniffled and snuggled into the heavy fabric.

C-3PO mimed in a silent parody of rage at him.

"No, I am not turning your vocabulator back on again. Yes, I am still aware this was my fault."

The droid would stomp his feet and march away if he could, but instead lowered his arms and waddled off in a hurry. R2 made a rude noise and followed after pausing by the young girl.

He paced again, counting the soft inhales of the sleeping child.

A soft ding alerted him to the surgery being completed. The medical droid carried the kindergartener boy out to the Dark Lord of the Sith.

"The original finger was permanently lost. He will need a few days to get used to the artificial finger."

"I understand the process. Send the exercises you want him to use to my inbox." With a knocked out child over one shoulder, he leaned over to pick up Leia and hold her over his other. Cape and all.

He placed both children into their beds and took his place on the chair between them. Instead of waking them to read from the book, he folded his hands into his lap and meditated on how events played out.

He should have taken his weapon with him to speak with the Emperor over the holocommunicator. C-3PO was right about that much. The children were both skilled at taking things apart, and in this case, putting things back together again.

His lightsaber had managed to collect dust within the internal mechanisms, slowing the weapon's ignition process. He had taken care to completely disassemble it, clean it, and only had part of the outer shell reassembled when the Emperor called.

The usually deceptively direct Palpatine had taken his time in interrogating the former Jedi as to what the Rebels had been doing and why they haven't been found already. He brought himself back to the present to check on the room. He had done what he could to keep his plans out of mind. Easy enough when your legs are causing pain the the stumps of the actual organic flesh in a kneeling position. When you wanting to get back to finish fixing your weapon. When the droids are being very quiet.

He managed to make the meeting end at last and heard his weapon start up, followed by a scream.

Luke cradled his right hand as the index finger lay on the floor, the stump cauterized. The red bladed weapon had fallen to the floor by Leia's foot, turned off.

A sniffle drew him from his memory.

"Dad? We weren't trying to play."

"Hmm?"

"We wanted to help fix your lightsaber. I gave it to Leia so she could see if it turned on right. I didn't really feel anything until you already called for the medical droid."

Luke raised his hand, observing the mechanical finger. "Dad?"

He watched as his son moved his hand in the dark, unlikely seeing the hand as well as the armored man did.

"When Dooku cut off your arm, did you feel it?"

"Not at first. I was more aware of not being able to get up right away with the usual way of sitting up. It was more adrenaline numbing me to the pain until I was no longer in a fight."

"Dad? Don't be mad at Leia."

He ruffled Luke's hair. "I'm not. I am angry with myself for leaving my weapon."

"Thanks, Dad."

He stayed all night, listening to them sleep. When they woke up in the morning, he explained how his weapon was not a toy, and he would be making sure not to leave it out again.

* * *

He steepled his fingers before his helmet as he examined the map showing where suspected rebels have hit the Empire. Spinning the galactic image on the computer screen around, he found himself wishing for the good old holograms used during the Clone Wars, even if the technology was more expensive to install and the Empire took on the Republic's debts to pay off, resulting in large cutbacks.

He tapped the holocommunicator console in nostalgia. Even the mobile ones had fallen into disuse in favor of the cheaper, older audio communicators. The current models were less detailed, less expensive.

Less expensive. Current.

The rebels were using Separatist ships, separatist tech most likely. He smiled. Tracking down the parts for the communication consoles would be easier. The smile faded. No, the rebels could just cannibalize old ship parts to find what they needed from places like Raxus. Or shipyards on Hutt controlled worlds like Tattooine like Qui-Gonn-

He shook himself out of old memories, and focused on back on his line of conjecture.

Scrapyard worlds, black markets, shipyards. He needed a way to keep an eye on those worlds. He needed something on those places no one would pay attention to.

"Dad! Mouse droid broke, can I fix it?"

He chuckled and leaned back. Droids. Living furniture. Mechanic droids..

"Dad?"

"You can fix it. Let me see when you finish with it. I have some others I need to build myself."

Luke ran into the office, mouse droid in hand. "Can I help? Please?"

He pulled out a box of mechanical droids and pointed to a box on the floor of parts. "Bring that box over here, and we will work on these together."

"Awesome! Father and Son droid building!"

"What of your sister?"

Luke frowned. "She's busy planning out her future army. She told me to leave her alone because I kept pointing out ways to beat them up. She's gonna make a awful Darth with the military. She should be all talky with those people you have to listen to who do all the talking then. She can make them agree to do stuff instead of arguing."


	7. Chapter 7

The droids he had planted around the junkyard worlds had done their jobs as he followed one's tracking beacon to a Mid Rim planet. He tapped into its listening systems as he tracked it down on the planet.

" _She's supposed to be arriving any second now."_

" _Will she really be here, or another decoy?"_

" _She said to use the safeword. Now hush!"_

 _There was a noise like a door opening and closing. "Snips."_

No. It can't be. It's not possible.

" _Skyguy. It's you, for real?"_

It was.

" _I'm here, for real."_

She sounded so similar to when the Council stripped her of her title. When he failed her. He probed into the Force until he found the frayed thread to follow. His speeder would draw attention in the area he was heading for, however. He would have to wai-

 _Beep._

"Threepio." He answered his holocom.

The droid lifted his arms in delight in the holographic image of him. "Thank the Maker, Master! The children are getting out of control! Captain Rex stopped by to deliver a report you told him to deliver personally, and the twins have detained him for far longer than is acceptable! He is telling them gruesome stories that are not suitable for children of their age, and I-"

"Good, tell Rex I am bringing someone for a long visit."

"Oh! How many people will be here then?"

He had to quickly count. "I'm bringing one person."

"May I ask who is to be coming?"

"Tell Rex that Commander Snips will be coming with me. He's been re-stationed to the residence because of that. It's an UFN posting."

"Very good, then, Master. But I must insist that you speak with him about those stories about the War he keeps telling."

He hung up on the droid. He had another part of his past to pick up before she also caused him trouble. He drove into the outpost town and parked in the middle of the town.

" _Uh, why the code word Snips and Skyguy, if you don't mind my asking?"_

" _They … sounded good."_

" _Boss!"_

" _He's here then." She sounded annoyed and tired. As if she'd been on the run for years, without knowing he had her name removed from the Order 66 list._

He stepped out of the vehicle and stood by the door, facing where the Force told him she was with his arms crossed.

She exited the junkshop. She had grown up from being a mere snip of a kid. She wore armored plates on her upper arms and over her boots. Her clothes were designed solely for combat and flexibility. She still carried her lightsabers on her hips, like in the war. She had been wearing a cloak, apparently from the fabric on the ground behind her.

"You! You killed my Master." She charged at him.

No, not exactly. He sidestepped her. She vaulted over the speeder and turned to face him. He could feel her rage, feel how close she was to falling. He sidestepped her next attempt to run him over.

She spun around him again and used the Force to arm herself with the lightsabers he remembered her wielding. "Fight me, you coward! Or do you not like the idea of using a bunch of clone troopers to distract me while you land the killing blow?"

He had to take several steps around to avoid her strikes, and worse, he had to use the Force to help him move quickly enough. "Commander Ahsoka Tano of the Grand Army of the Republic. Padawan to General Anakin Skywalker until the Jedi falsely accused you of treason to cover up their own traitors' actions. You have failed to pay attention, General Skywalker saved the Emperor and revealed the Jedi's treasonous plans."

"Lies!"

Sidestep again. He was going to have to do something eventually, she had mobility and youth to use against him, and he was weakened by his unwillingness to harm her. "It was the Jedi who turned on your former Master."

"Lies!"

He moved his speeder to bat her aside with a heavy heart. She screeched at him as he approached and saw her broken leg. With the Force, he picked her up and set her into the passenger's side. If she just hadn't kept charging at him...

"Nothing to see here, you will move along." He spoke to the crowd and took his own seat.

"I hate you."

Useful for turning her. The Sith may have only a Rule of Two, but their ways weren't quite right. Not if he wanted to keep both of his children and see them both grow up. "Hate is not the way of a Jedi."

She snorted. "I'm not a Jedi."

He sent out a command to the local garrison to sweep the outpost town of other would-be rebels. He could turn her, finish her training, convince her to his plan to have the rebels overtake the Emperor….

"You're a monster." Small hurdle.

"Yes I am."

She stopped talking then until he drove the speeder into the starship hanger.

"Where are you taking me?"

"To see Skywalkers and Rex."

She turned to face him. "What? You said my master was dead."

"I said the Jedi turned on your master. I did not say he was dead." Technically.

A silence as he commanded the shuttle to open up for his speeder to drive up enough that she could hobble her way in. Her glare was amusing.

"The shuttle has been modified from the standard Imperial models. It is not so easily sabotaged as you expect it to be."

"It's not designed for lightsabers-" He forgot about those until he used the Force to take them. "You will board willingly or I will drag you by the Force."

"Coward."

He'd forgotten how spirited she was, even as she did hobble onto the shuttle as he told her to. With that spiritedness in mind he used the Force to retract the ramp and close off the walkway before she could escape.

It wasn't a lie to say his shuttle was more unique. It was designed to keep twin Force users from interfering with the vital operations of the craft. And he was, for once, glad he developed the habit of sealing off the cockpit before leaving considering there was the secondary entrance/exit in the cockpit.

His former Padawan was annoyed and in pain, when he locked in the flightpath for the shuttle and unsealed the cockpit. He stood and reached for an upper compartment for the medical kit that wasn't filled with banadges.

"Let me see your leg."

"Excuse me?"

"Your leg is broken. It needs a splint. Rex would be annoyed with me if you arrived with an untreated broken leg. The Skywalkers would be as well."

"Wait, Skywalker _s_ , as in, more than one Skywalker?"

"Yes."

Ahsoka sighed and let him bind up her leg with the splint. "Have any stims? I'm starting to crash and the leg hurts like hell."

"No stims. Take three of these, however." He handed her a small bottle of children's painkillers.

"These are for kids."

"I said take three. Not one."

She glared at him and did so.

"Where are you taking me?"

He stuck with his answer. "To the Skywalkers and Rex."

"Where are they?"

"At the residence."

She reached behind her and threw a toy at him. One of Leia's, if he recalled correctly.

"Was that a toy I just threw? Do you drag children onto your ship and take them to places?"

"Yes." He looked at it before picking it up with the Force. "It's Leia's stuffed nerf for the farmer set Organa gave her."

"Master! Thank the Maker you've returned- oh! Commander Tano! I wasn't expecting you when Lord Vader called to say I should prepare for company! Captain Rex! Did you see who Lord Vader brought?"

"Woah! She's Dad's former student?" Luke tried to push 3PO out of the way as Ahsoka hobbled with her crutches inside the residence.

Captain Rex had aged from the Wars as well, but his surprise at seeing her again was genuine. "Uh, my lord? The kids wanted a story before bed last night when I got here. Your protocol droid was rather upset about it, however."

"I'm not surprised."

Ahsoka was dragged around the residence by the golden protocol droid as he shouted for R2-D2 to finish his maintenance to see the guest.

"So, you and Dad go back, like, way back to the War and stuff like Dad and Uncle Rex do?"

Ahsoka stopped her eating to look at the blonde child.

"Luke! Aunt Ahsoka's eating, and it's rude to talk with your mouth full."

"I don't remember learning that lesson on Kamino."

He did not eat with the quartet, but he sat with them and listened.

"You two are the Skywalkers Vader kept referring to?"

Leia shoved her brother before he opened his mouth he had just stuffed with food. "Yeah. I'm Leia Skywalker. He's Luke Skywalker."

"Where's Anakin Skywalker?"

Luke had swallowed his food. "Dad's-"

"Deceased, Commander. The General died protecting the Empire from the Jedi traitors."

"You lied, _Sith_."

"That is the official story, _Snips_. You're still young and impulsive." She froze.

"Oh, didn't realize the plan was to tell her the truth. Explains why I'm here on a UFN stationing. Sorry, commander." She was still frozen, and Rex waved his hand over her eyes to no response.

"Tch. I was going to says Dad is right here. Dad wouldn't have let Aunt Ahsoka come over if she couldn't be trusted, duh."

"Except the Moffs." Leia, always making sure she had the winning last word.

"Yeah. Moffs can't be trusted. But Dad doesn't have Moffs over for dinner." Luke grinned. "Remember when Dad almost skewered Moff Tarkin for showing up last year?"

Vader turned to face his son. "You were up past your bedtime. What were you and Leia doing to be up so late?" He didn't actually use the Force to look into his son's mind, just looked at him.

"Leia said she heard somebody so I went out to see, I think."

He waved off the excuse. "What story did Rex tell you about last night?"

"He told about how he and Uncle Cody caught the traitor on Crystophsis while you and General Kenobi were fighting Ventress."

"Not long after that battle, was when your Aunt became my student. Ahsoka, Rex, I have some reports I need to finish, if you would help Threepio and Artoo with the twins for a few minutes, please?"

* * *

Well, uh, I'm not dead? Okay, I know, I know, I've left this go un-updated for a really long time, but I felt myself hitting a stalling point until more recently when I found myself with a better bit of story to put into it. So I got back to the story with a new chapters. Just a reminder, this story takes place about 6 years after RotS in an alternative timeline, so uh, my Ahsoka and Rex aren't exactly much (if at all) like their Rebels versions (those ones are in a series in the main timeline at about 15 years after RotS, anyway).

I'd been trying to figure out how to bring Ahsoka into the story anyway. I had a scene I chose to not include where there was a police report of a dual vibroblade wielding Togruta stopping robberies, but that was a part I cut out of the story.

Reviews, please? Let me know if I didn't do as well with this chapter or not, there was a lot of talking. And no bedtime story this time, I know, I know. And spelling errors. Tell me about those as well. Please? I'm really sorry I let this go so long without an update.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

"You live on a ship."

Luke looked up to the Togruta woman and tilted his head. "Why do you say that like that?"

Ahsoka shook her head with a shrug. "I should be more surprised, but Master Skywalker liked his ships back in the war."

"What kind of ships did Dad have?"

"Junkers, really. Ask him about the _Twilight_ sometime. I'm still not certain it had engines when he took it."

"What kind of a ship was it?

Leia rolled her eyes. "Luke, it's a ship, who cares?"

"I asked, I care!"

"Well I don't! Aunt Ahsoka, Uncle Rex and Dad have told us about Christophsis. Can you tell us about it from your side?"

The former Jedi shrugged and looked up to see Rex dozing in a chair near the doorway. "I guess, but it's getting late. Why don't you change into your sleep clothes and get into bed, and then I'll tell you about my first battle in the Clone Wars, okay?"

"Okay. But Dad still owes us a chapter from our book."

"Uncle Rex! Uncle Rex!"

The poor clone jolted and reached for his hip and the empty holsters at both sides before groaning. "Blast, I need to stop falling asleep like this."

"Uncle Rex, Aunt Ahsoka's gonna tell us about her first battle in the war!"

Rex nodded for a moment before he stopped nodding. "Commander, why are you telling these kids that story? It's bad enough the gold clanker gets after me for telling my war stories…."

"I was twelve. You were ten. They're not that much younger. Master Skywalker destroyed a Trade federation ship when he was nine – you said so yourself."

"They're Skywalker's kids, sure, but they're neither Jedi nor soldiers."

Leia grinned as she finished arranging her pillows into a support so she could sit up. "We're going to be Sith. Jedi betrayed the Emperor, Dad tried to stop them, but when he went to end the war, the Jedi almost succeeded in hurting the Emperor again. The Jedi sent a – uh – ass-ass-assin to kill Mom and Dad too. Of-ishy-ally, they did."

Ahsoka frowned. "Who taught you that?"

"Our teacher at school. And in Pre-school too."

"He didn't teach you?"

Luke frowned. "Dad doesn't like to talk about the end of the War. It makes him sad, and then he gets a whole bunch of broken droid bits that he works on. Sometimes I help. Leia doesn't like to help."

She glared at her brother. "I keep them clean and pretty!" She turned back to the ex-Jedi. "You promised to tell us about your first battle in the War."

"Alright. Rex! I'll need your help to keep some of the facts straight."

The thirty-something looking clone looked into the bedroom, half of a messy sandwich in his mouth and a couple canteens in his hands. "Wiff wha?" He offered one canteen to her.

"Christophsis. You know how it started better than I do." She didn't open it when she took it, and looked around for a second chair to bring over to where both of the twins could see them without favoritism.

With one hand free, he chewed the bite of the sandwich and swallowed before speaking. "Alrigh'. It's caf' Commander. Should keep us awake a bit longer until Lord Vader gets back." He took the chair Ahsoka had used the Force to bring over and sat, looking very out of place, wearing his armor in the bedroom for children and sitting in a chair meant for much smaller forms, his knees were halfway up his chest as he balanced the half-sandwich on a knee and set an open canteen of caf' on the floor. "So, the evil Separatists were blockading Christophsis from any ships getting in. Not even trade goods could get through, and the people were starving, sick, and injured."

"What's a blockade?"

He smiled, and his eyes seemed to be looking far beyond anyone in the room. "It's when a number of a military force are used to keep things from getting past them to a place. Like the Stormies out in the hangar are keeping bad guys from getting to your home, except in a blockade nothing good, bad or neither gets in." Rex paused a moment, shaking his head a little before picking up the story. "So, nothing from off-world was getting to Christophsis, and the blockade fleet was facing off with the Republic's fleet in the system. We'd sent ships time and time again with relief supplies, but nothing was getting through the blockade. General Kenobi and some of the Republic's top scientists had developed a top-secret tool to try and get through the blockade with supplies, but there would only be one chance, and they needed everything they could to make it the best chance they could.

"So they called for General Skywalker, his fleet, and the 501st to come, help out, and trade places so the tired and injured soldiers could get better, and the damaged ships could be fixed up. So we arrived. General Skywalker nearly broke his nose on the top-secret tool…."

The twins were asleep before Ahsoka got to speak, had in fact fallen asleep after hearing how the General got through the blockade, before Rex could tell them about how he and Cody found a traitor Ventress had bought.

After washing down a mouthful of sandwich, the veteran Captain spoke. "Good seeing you again, Commander."

"Why am I not being shot at?" She fidgeted with her hand.

Rex shrugged. "Me, my 501st, lot of the others, we took out the chips in our heads that Fives died telling us about. But even then, you weren't a Jedi anymore. You're still not a Jedi, and you were taken off of the Order 66 list when you left or something. He thinks the chips were used to _make_ us obey the Executive Order, just in case we had gotten too attached to our Jedi COs. Officially, because you were betrayed by a Jedi, you went into hiding for an undercover mission to look for other Jedi traitors. You still hold rank in the 501st."

"Rex, what really happened? Why is Master Skywalker a Sith, and in that suit? Who is the mother of those kids?"

He shrugged, shoving the last of his sandwich into his mouth as he stood to collect the canteen and put the chair back. "Haf th' ash him. Or d'kiths."

"Chew, swallow your food, and we can try that again. You had better food manners during the war."

He washed down the sandwich with caf'. "Didn't usually have to talk while eating. Or I was eating food that was easier to move around in case I had to talk."

"You just ate dinner too."

"Fast metabolism for accelerated aging, Tano, don't you remember? Anyway, you'll have to ask Lord Vader. The kids might know some things. There's always the official records as well. Goldenrod might be happy to tell you all about them. Artoo would be a more reliable source for other details."

A dark shadow approached the two veterans of another era. "Thank you, Rex. Ahsoka. I did not expect the Emperor to contact me after my meeting."

"Krayt Drakelings have fallen asleep, sir."

"The what?"

"My children. Rex called them terrors who could kill without knowing they would when they were only two and running off on him. Like Krayt Dragon young."

"Right." She shrugged. "So, yeah, I got captured. What's your big plan, Skyguy? Execute me?"

Vader shook his head. "You're not a Jedi. Rex, would you update the Commander on the 501st please? I imagine she would like to know what she had been doing officially."

"One question first – who is the mother of those kids? They said something about assassins going after you and their mother at the end of the war, and you weren't close to any woman in my memory. Well, maybe Senator Amidala, but you and she had different-"

"Padme Amidala. They are children of Anakin Skywalker and Padme Amidala. To the Jedi assassins, Amidala was the enemy for being a politician, even if she did not support turning the Republic into an Empire."

Apparently Rex didn't know, since his canteen clattered to the ground and he groaned. "Now it all makes sense. You went after her on the EMP Ship from the first TCW arc, then there was the whole Banking Clans thing with her, when the Seppies went after Naboo, blast it all, how did that manage to stay a secret and unnoticed?"

"No wonder she looked at me weirdly when I said you and she thought so much alike." She nodded. "Rex, he said something about updating me on the 501st?"

"Right, ma'am. Sir."

Vader waited for the last two allies who knew him from before the armor to leave before looking into the room with his sleeping children.

" _I'm not afraid to die. I've been dying a little bit each day since you came back into my life…. I love you."_

" _You love me? I thought we had decided not to fall in love. That we'd be forced to live a lie and it would destroy our lives."_

" _I think our lives are about to be destroyed anyway."_

Proof she had loved him, and he loves her was in that room. The glowing stars were bright spots in his red vision, but he smiled under his mask. Once his master was overthrown, he might finally be able to see both of them with his own eyes, but for now, he couldn't let himself be seen outside of his chambers without any part of the suit.

" _One day, I will become the greatest Jedi_ ever. _I will even learn how to stop people from dying."_

" _Not from a Jedi."_

He frowned at the last two memories as they came to mind. Ahsoka was with the Rebels, if he could convince her to return to the 501st, maybe convince her to use her position to help her rebels, he could feed information to them, wear out the Stormtroopers the Emperor insisted on using….

Luke turned over and muttered something about "bad motivators" and "blue milk."

He was missing out on time with them the longer Palpatine lived and had him in meetings or out hunting down the last of the survivors of that stupid order. Only the very youngest of the escaping younglings from then were really left, and Kenobi. Part of him wondered if his master truly managed to kill Yoda. He didn't see the old green Jedi Grandmaster's body at that time, and he wasn't quite as good at fighting with a lightsaber or the Force as he once claimed he was.

" _I am as good as Master Yoda."_

" _Only in your dreams, my young Padawan."_

"So, I have permission to act against the Inquisitors? How nice. I had to rebuild my lightsabers because of them. Twice they dragged me into a droid facility, and one time, both of my lightsabers got cut in half. Damn near took my arm while the machines were at it."

"Could file for replacement parts."

"They're expensive considering how illegal most of them are now as 'Jedi Artifacts.' At least I managed to recover the crystals, and Master Skywalker taught me to keep extra parts on hand all the time." Of course he did, Ma- _Kenobi_ was fond of lecturing him on losing a lightsaber, and he in turn lectured her on not having lightsaber construction materials nearby at all times in case she lost her weapon.

"Where are they anyway? Thought those things were your life, like my Deeces."

"He took them. Didn't trust me with them in the speeder, though my leg's still broken. Or the ship. Or here. Why does he use another ship when he lives on one?"

"Who knows what goes on in the mind of a Jedi, or a Sith." Rex sounded like he was repeating something he had heard from long ago.

He stepped into the door-less doorway of the guest bunkroom to look at them both. Considering the room used to be a brig, it was repurposed well for a guest room. "I could finish your training, and you could resume your position in the 501st, if you wanted."

She looked at his mask and frowned. "I'm not a Sith."

"You don't have to be." He'd rather she wouldn't anyway. The Sith ways didn't work either as they were.

She crossed her arms and shook her head. "You're teaching your kids to be Sith. I know how the Sith work – there are only two."

He sighed, the noise translating poorly from his mask as merely another exhale. Instead he paced the hallway for a moment. "Not really. They're learning the basics of the Force, but I will not follow Darth Bane's teachings. I will go to an older Sith Order's model."

She snorted. "The Sith Order? They fell apart fighting each other, manipulated by their emotions."

"Repressing emotions didn't help the Jedi either, when they were blind to a Sith leading their government." Her frown deepened, but the pause before her counter argument told him she agreed with his point.

"The Emperor will want me dead." She had a point, but he was working on that. For now, he could make himself look like he was doing as Dooku once did and training a 'secret' apprentice. The Emperor would expect him to do so eventually, why not the student he already had taught?

"I can distract him enough for a while."

She looked to be considering her options before turning to Rex. "So, Rex, you got used to not taking orders from me. Are you sure you could handle taking orders from someone younger than you?"

He smiled. "You? Younger? Nah, I'm two whole years younger than you. And I still have more experience than you with months of combat service before Christophsis."

"I won't be your apprentice. But I'll be part of the 501st. I don't kill kids. And I can use a blaster if you don't trust me with my lightsabers." She didn't look away from his mask as she spoke.

Rex paled a moment before forcing himself to smile. "Good to have you back, Commander."

"I accept the alternative terms of the deal. There will be a uniform for you to wear, and armor, in the morning."

Hours later, his helmet's HUD alerted him of a message being sent out on an encrypted signal.

 _The plan has changed. I have a new source of intel for the cells and will not be out in the field. –Fulcrum out._

He chuckled to himself. She was learning to be a very good leader before the Jedi, and he, turned their backs to her. Of course she wouldn't simply be taking orders.

And he just gave one of the main inner circle of the Rebels an almost complete free-access over Imperial information. Not truly free access, she would find much still classified to her, but it wuld likely be more information her spies elsewhere would get.

He did hope she wouldn't get the 501st killed, however. He was lucky to get many of the original clones that were left under his command. The others in the military could have the Stormtroopers. And the bad knock-off clones who only lived for three years now.

He switched over to view the twins, still asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

With Rex and Ahsoka taking the twins and the droids to check in with the 501st Legion on the _Executor,_ Vader went to speak with the current Captain in charge of the unfinished flagship.

"Report."

"My lord, at the current construction rate, the ship will be finished in seven years. If we used Wookiee slaves and the construction droids, we could cut down that time to three years."

"No." His upper arm – the one he still had – ached from the memory of when he used the Jedi medical equipment to locate and remove his chip. Let the Empire keep using slaves for a while longer, when Palpatine was overthrown, he would reveal the dark truth and –

" _I dreamed I was a Jedi, and came back and freed all the slaves."_

He'd finally keep the promise. Make that vision come true, since he was good at making those come true.

" _Ani, you're breaking my heart."_

He crossed his arms before speaking. "You will not use slaves, Wookiee or otherwise. I will see to the droid programming." He crossed his arms and waited. There was always more to report.

"The clones are getting restless and disrupting the non-clone members of the crew with their practice drills, and exercises, and by the Emperor, my lord, I'm not sure I can handle this any further. I've requested for a transfer."

"I know." The Captain jumped. "Your replacement is due to arrive in two hours. You are dismissed to prepare the replacement and to prepare to be transferred out when he or she arrive."

Vader's helmet caught a segment of conversation.

"Heh, that's what the Captain gets for going up against Vader."

"Makes me wish we had Admiral Yularen back with us and not in ISB."

"Y-yes, my lord. Thank you, sir." The captain fled the bridge. Under his suit, Vader sighed and arranged to have the twins brought to the bridge and out of the way for Rex and Ahsoka to be Captain and reinstated Commander of the legion housed on the ship. "Senior Commander."

"I believe Commander Tano has seniority over me, sir." One of the junior bridge commanders from the War, according to his memory. He smiled to himself.

"She has been in out of commission for some time and needs to reacclimate. She also an Imperial _Army_ Commander."

"Right sir. I will take command until the new Captain arrives."

"Dad, when I grow up, can I visit all of the stars in the galaxy?"

He paused a mere fraction at Leia's question before nodding. "You are General Skywalker's children. Keeping either of you from the stars would be … unhelpful to the Empire."

A message appeared in his helmet, text only.

 _Sir, she may have left the Order, but I doubt she isn't still a Jedi. Are you certain she's still trustworthy after all this time?_

Rex. He sent back a message to set his old ally at ease and resumed watching his children. No, Ahsoka was not as trustworthy as before, but she was still Jedi enough to not betray her dearest friends like Rex. Or the twins.

 _Construction shipments to Geonosis. Penal colony has a lot of shipments to it as well. Fulcrum out._

Nothing about the 501st, the _Executor_ , or his identity under the mask. Part of him, the remains of Anakin Skywalker who would rather be with the twins, felt bad about using her attachment to the clones to keep her under watch. The Sith part of him knew he was attached to the ex-Jedi as well, as his former student and as a surrogate for the younger sibling he remembered begging his mother for. As a Sith, he knew the Emperor would know of his taking on Ahsoka under his command.

Let the Rebels find the technological terror the Navy constructed. Its power was insignificant to the power of the Force. Even Tarkin would see that.

He stepped into the childrens' room and pulled himself from his plots.

"Hey Dad, you owe us three chapters for three nights of no stories from you."

"Aunt Ahsoka and Uncle Rex's stories don't count."

He smiled and took his customary seat between them. "Where were we?"

"I don't like the old story, it was all boring."

"Tell us about the Naboo Blockade that started the War." Leia's eyes had a glint in them he recognized from her mother when she was winning at anything and there was nothing to stop her.

"Yeah!"

And he lost. "Very well, nineteen years ago, or another lifetime to some, there was a beautiful planet of green land and deep blue waters in the Mid-Rim Chommel Sector. This planet was a peaceful one, unless provoked. But out beyond the orbit of the planet, the Galactic Senate had moved to turn the Free Trade Zones into a taxable region, and the young queen of Naboo was moving to renegotiate the contract her world had in regards to the trade of her worlds' natural plasma production.

"Boring! Get to the good part, Dad!"

He held up a hand. "And then you would wish to know the why, young Skywalkers. The Trade Federation was displeased with the change in trade routes, and chose to blockade Naboo in protest."

"But Naboo did nothing wrong!" Leia glared as some of the nearby books and toys started to move.

He shook his head. "No, Naboo had nothing wrong. Naboo and the people on it were the victims, and the Trade Federation was the bully. The good Queen Amidala-"

"Mother!"

"Yes, your mother. Queen Amidala called the Supreme Chancellor Valorum to ask him for his help in saving her people, her planet. While she was begging the Galactic Senate to help her world as ship carrying food couldn't go past the blockade, her guards prepared for an escape in case it was needed. She called the Supreme Chancellor again and told him that he was the one responsible for her people's fates as they starved and got sick. The Supreme Chancellor was shocked, and with the help of then-Senator of Naboo Palpatine, sent two Jedi to meet with the Trade Federation's Viceroy and negotiate an end of the blockade."

"Did they cut up the Viceroy? He deserved it!"

"Luke! That's not how negotiations work, remember what Admiral Yularen said last year, 'negotiations fail when weapons are used instead of words.'"

Luke threw a pillow at his sister. "But those people were sick and hungry! Like the people on Christophsis from Uncle Rex and Aunt Ahsoka's story! And some people don't listen to talking and need to be hurt to make them listen!"

"Mother once said 'We can't solve all of our problems by throwing troops at them.'"

"She also said 'If you see injustice, you can't wait for someone else to fix it.'"

He frowned at hearing Padme's words from the voices of two children who would only ever hear it in recording.

" _Only my new powers can do that!"_

" _At what cost?"_

He was lucky to even find the ship she was on when they were born, Organa insisted _that Jedi_ had arrived with her and then left her in his care. Organa was lucky the ship droids couldn't do anything to save Padme and that he was not sheltering any Jedi, when he stalked into the medical nursery.

And she somehow recognized him under his life supporting armor and mask.

" _There's still good in you, Anakin. I kept trying to tell them." And then she held up her hand to offer him something. "I was told it brings good luck, and you will need it with them."_

"Dad!" He jolted within his suit from his memory to look at his son. "Who's right, me or Leia, that the Jedi should have just cut the Viceroy?"

He paused for a moment to paraphrase _that Jedi._ "For over a thousand generations, the Jedi were guardians of peace and justice in the Republic, and the Old Republic before that. They were not an order of warriors, though they would fight if they felt there was a need for it. Nineteen years ago, the Trade Federation started a chain of events that would make the Mandalorian's attacks against the Republic four thousand years ago seem very small in comparison. But the Jedi did not have a Revan to lead them.

"The Supreme Chancellor sent just two Jedi – Jedi Knight Qui-Gon Jinn, and his Padawan learning Obi-Wan Kenobi."

"No way! The guy who taught y- our father? But the Jedi-"

"Had not turned on the Republic yet. That would not happen for another thirteen years. Now, the two Jedi landed on the blockade fleet's command ship hanger and were guided to a negotiations table. While they were being led, the ship's defense systems fired on the Jedi's ship. And then the negotiation room was filled with a toxic gas…."

* * *

I have altered the timeline to have the _Executor_ under construction much earlier than it would be under Legends or the Canon timelines, but it's a nice place to explore and get the plot moving again.


End file.
